1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery pack and a function expansion cartridge. More particularly, the present invention relates to a battery pack having a configuration capable of expanding the functions of an electronic device and to a function expansion cartridge that is set in this battery pack for expanding the functions of the electronic device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional technology, an electronic device is provided with an expansion terminal (hot shoe) or an expansion slot for expanding the functions of the device, and so on, and by installing a function expansion device or cartridge, etc., in the terminal and the slot, the functions of the device at the time of purchase can be expanded further.
For example, in the case of a video camera, a light can be mounted in a contact terminal called a “hot shoe”.
Electronic devices, such as video cameras, can be driven with a capacitor which can be charged repeatedly by a charger (hereinafter referred to as a “battery pack”) being loaded therein so that it can be used outdoors or anywhere the user goes.
A video camera has been developed in which a mechanism for loading and removing a memory card is provided on the battery pack side, so that data to be processed in the electronic device driven by the battery pack in this manner, for example, image data captured by a video camera, is recorded, so that the image data can be recorded in the memory card set in the battery pack (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-78068 (page 4, FIG. 1)).
However, the current situation is that, in such electronic devices, usually, basic functions are determined in advance, and it is often not known whether the functions are really necessary functions unless these are actually used; therefore, careful consideration is necessary when purchasing, with the result that users cannot but help to buy electronic devices provided with functions which are unnecessary and, on the other hand, electronic devices having insufficient functions. Moreover, when unnecessary functions are provided, there are problems in that the device's main unit becomes enlarged correspondingly, the portability is degraded, and the purchase price increases.
Furthermore, in electronic devices provided with the above-described expansion terminal (hot shoe) and expansion slot, the functions which can be added are often limited. Furthermore, since mechanisms such as an expansion terminal (hot shoe) and an expansion slot must be provided in the device's main unit, the configuration becomes complex, and this becomes an obstacle to size reduction of the device in the same manner as for the above-described problems.
On the other hand, in the video camera of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-78068 described above, a mechanism by which a memory card is loaded and removed is provided on the battery pack side, but the functions of the device are not expanded.